Phantom Pines
by FrostyPines
Summary: It's been almost a year since they met Danny, and now Dipper and Mabel are visiting Amity Park to see him again. Unfortunately, Dipper gets a bit too curious about Danny's secret world... Will they be able to undo the damage before it's too late? (Sequel to Phantom Falls) -Currently on hiatus, I'm trying to get enough writing done to establish a consistent upload schedule-
1. Chapter 1

Dipper stared out the bus window at the unfamiliar terrain. Mabel was asleep in the seat next to him, wearing a dark purple sweater.  
Dipper knew where they were going, but he hadn't been there before. It had taken a lot of convincing to get their parents to agree to this trip. The only reason they were going, according to their parents, was that Stan wouldn't be home from his "business trip" for another two or three weeks and Soos wasn't "qualified" to take care of them. As if Stan was. But their parents wanted them to get away for the summer and didn't have to money to send them to summer camp, so Gravity Falls it was. Plus this quick detour.  
Dipper chuckled to himself. His parents had no idea what had happened last summer. Mabel had tried to tell them, but of course they didn't take her seriously. Zombies, giant robots, a demonic triangle and Stan's secret twin brother? What an active imagination. Of course, it had all really happened. And only one person outside of Gravity Falls would believe it- the one they were going to see.

As soon as Stan and Ford got back from their Arctic Ocean exploration Dipper and Mabel would be back in Gravity Falls. Dipper couldn't wait to see Wendy and the gang again- he was even excited to see Pacifica. But he had to admit that one of the people he missed most was a friend they'd made under very strange circumstances. Even stranger than usual for Gravity Falls.

They'd met him near the end of the summer, just before Ford reemerged and everything basically went to heck. Dipper and Mabel had only known him for about two weeks, but they became close friends. Close enough that Dipper and Mabel were two of the very few people that knew his most important secret.

And then there was the fact that he had saved their lives multiple times, along with many others. He also delayed Weirdmaggeon, which was good because they never would have gotten through it without Ford.

The more Dipper thought, he realized he had a lot to be grateful for. If he hadn't met Danny, he would almost certainly be dead.

A sign flashed by the bus window reading AMITY PARK: IT'S SAFE HERE! Dipper turned to Mabel and shook her awake.  
"Mabel! We're here!" he said.


	2. Chapter 2

Dipper and Mabel stood in front of the house holding their suitcases. Though the word 'house' didn't really do it justice. It would have looked like an ordinary red brick building, except that it was topped with a huge, intricate metal structure and a flashy sign advertising 'FentonWorks' attached to the side.

"You sure this is the place?" Mabel asked, looking up at the eccentric structure.

"Oh, yeah," Dipper replied. "It matches his description pretty accurately. Kind of hard to miss."

"Alright then!" Mabel bounded up to the front door and rang the doorbell, Dipper following behind.

The door swung open to reveal a huge man in a bright orange jumpsuit. He was so large he filled the entire doorway, and he had a loud voice that accompanied his vivid appearance. "Hey, Danny, are these your friends?" He practically shouted. He reached out an enormous arm and patted Dipper on the back so hard that his knees buckled.

A familiar face appeared in the inch of space between the man's arm and the doorframe. "Gosh, dad, let him breathe!"

The man stepped aside to reveal Danny, who was grinning at the twins. "Hey guys! Great to see you again!"

"Danny!" Mabel squealed and dropped her suitcase, jumping forward to give Danny a huge hug.

"Woah!" Danny said, staggering a little. "Hi, Mabel!"

"Hey, man!" Dipper said, grabbing Mabel's suitcase along with his and walking into the house.

"Hey Dipper!" Danny said as Mabel let go of him. Dipper grinned, setting down the suitcases.

"Oh, are these your friends, Danny?" A curvy woman in a blue jumpsuit came walking out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a dishtowel.

"Yeah," Danny said, "This is Dipper and Mabel." He gestured to each of them. "Guys, this is my mom."

"Hi!" Mabel said.

"Nice to meet you Mrs. Fenton," Dipper said.

"Oh, aren't you guys sweet?" She said, smiling. "Welcome!"

"Yeah, it's great to know that Danny has more friends!" Jack Fenton yelled. He leaned towards Maddie. "Even if they are a bit young for him," he attempted to whisper to her, but his loud voice carried across the room nonetheless.

"Dad!" Danny groaned indignantly.

Mabel laughed behind her hand, but Dipper just smiled awkwardly. He and Mabel were four years younger than Danny, but that shouldn't really stop them from being friends with him. Although he could use that excuse to get Mabel to stop hitting on Danny. Usually.

"Okay, come on you two," Danny said, grabbing one of the suitcases. "Let's get your stuff put away."

Mabel grabbed the other suitcase and ran up the stairs behind Danny. Dipper turned quickly to Danny's parents and said, "Thanks again for letting us stay, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton."

"Oh, it's no trouble, sweetie!" Maddie said, smiling.

"Yeah, anything for Danny's friends!" Jack said.

Dipper smiled and headed up the stairs after Danny and Mabel.

"This is my room," Danny said, opening a door in the upstairs hallway. "You'll be in here with me, Dipper."

"Cool," Dipper said, seeing the air mattress that had been inflated beside Danny's bed.

"And Mabel will be in there with Jazz," Danny said, pointing to another door down the hall. "She'll be back from college tomorrow."

"Awesome!" Mabel said, dragging her suitcase to Jazz's room.

Danny grinned at Dipper as he pulled his suitcase into his room. "So, what's up? What'd I miss?"

Dipper turned his back to Danny as he unzipped his suitcase. "Oh, nothing much. Just the _end of the freaking world_."

"Oh, yeah. Mabel texted me about that. She said it was crazy." Danny laughed. "I'm kinda sorry I missed it."

"Don't be." Dipper said, turning back to Danny with an exasperated expression. "It was awful. We almost died like fifty times."

"So only twenty fewer times than normal." Danny smirked.

Dipper laughed. "Yeah, sounds about right. But at least Bill is gone for good now."

"Yeah. I hate that nacho chip jerk." Danny snickered.

"But check this out!" Dipper said, pulling something out of his suitcase. "Mabel told you about our Great Uncle Ford, didn't she?"

"Yeah, the long lost twin, right?" Danny laughed again. "Man, and I thought _my_ life was complicated."

"Yeah well, it turned out that the journal was written by him, and he inspired me to start my own!" He showed Danny a blue book with a darker blue pine tree symbol on the cover. "And guess what? I've got a section on you!"

"What?" Danny asked, half startled and half flattered.

"Yeah, look!" Dipper flipped open the journal and showed Danny a page headed 'Phantom'. There was a picture of Danny in ghost mode just under the title. "I want your help filling it out!"

"Alright," Danny said hesitantly, "As long as you don't mention my secret identity. Don't want that information falling into the wrong hands."

"Don't worry, man, I'd never!"

"Okay. That's actually pretty good!" Danny pointed at the drawing. "You did that yourself?"

"Yeah, I've been taking drawing classes. Thanks!" He flipped a few pages. "I've been trying to fill it out, but there's not much supernatural stuff going on in California." He looked up at Danny. "So I'm super excited for this visit! I'm going to write a whole new section on ghosts!"

Danny grinned. "Then I've got just the thing for you to see!"


	3. Chapter 3

"What do you think?" Danny asked.

Dipper stared open-mouthed at the swirling green portal. "Amazing."

Danny had brought Dipper and Mabel down to the basement to check out the portal to the Ghost Zone. He had told them about it last summer, but that still didn't prepare Dipper for seeing it in person.

"Woah," Mabel said, taking a step towards the portal.

"Careful, Mabel!" Dipper said, grabbing her arm.

"Don't worry," Danny said. "It's not too dangerous. Not while you're with me, anyway."

"What's in there?" Dipper asked, eyes as wide as the portal itself.

"We went in last summer, remember?"

"But we barely saw anything!" Dipper said excitedly. "Could you, I don't know, give us a tour sometime?"

"It's really not that diverse in there. But I think I'm going to power it down while you guys are here. Just to be safe."

"Aww, okay." Mabel said.

Dipper just watched as Danny unplugged the portal, a disappointed look on his face.

Just then, they heard heavy footsteps on the stairs down to the lab. "Danny? Is that you?" Jack Fenton's voice echoed down to them.

"Yeah, dad," Danny called back. "Just showing Dipper and Mabel the ghost portal."

"Your friends are interested in ghosts, eh?" Jack said, running down the rest of the stairs.

"Yeah, Mr. Fenton. I actually have some experience with ghosts," said Dipper, grinning. "We should talk about it someti…" He trailed off, catching sight of Danny, who was shaking his head vigorously behind his father's back.

It was too late. Jack's face was lit up with a manic energy. He grabbed Dipper and shoved him into a chair. Then he ran to the desk. "We can talk now! Let me show you what I've been working on! I've got the latest technology in all things ghost!" He started pulling equipment out of drawers and cabinets. "Here we have the Fenton Fisher, equipped with an unbreakable ecto-proof line. Catches and tangles all things ghostly. And this is the Fenton Thermos, great for detaining major threats. And here…" he continued blathering on, not even noticing that Dipper was slightly taken aback.

Danny grinned apologetically at Dipper from across the room, while Mabel was trying to hold in her laughter.

"Say, I don't suppose you'd like a little gear of your own?" Jack said, stopping his rant for a moment.

"What? Uh, okay…" Dipper said apprehensively.

Jack ran over to a closet and pulled out a tape measure. "You're about the same size Jazz was when I tried to get her into the family business. I bet you'd fit into the jumpsuit I made for her!"

"Wait, what? I'm not wearing a girl's jumpsuit!"

"Don't worry buddy, I'll fix it up for you! Want anything on it?"

"What?"

"Well, normally all the jumpsuits I make have my face on them, but I suppose you might want your face instead."

"Um…" Dipper looked at Danny for help, but Danny just shrugged in a "just humor him" sort of way.

"Ugh, just put a pine tree on it."

"You got it, champ!" Jack yelled. He pulled out an orange jumpsuit from the closet, and ran to the other side of the room. He pulled a sewing machine out of nowhere and plunked it down on the desk. "I'll have this fixed up for you in no time! Why, when I was your age, I used to sew all my own clothes! I remember when…"

He continued to ramble as Dipper looked helplessly across the room, where Mabel was shaking with laughter.

Danny shook his head. He tiptoed over to Dipper, a finger held to his lips. Then he held onto both Dipper and Mabel and turned them intangible, flying through the ceiling.

"He'll never notice we're gone," he said, landing them in his room.

Mabel collapsed in laughter again.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, kids! Jazz is home!" Maddie called up the stairs.

Danny, Mabel and Dipper thundered down the stairs. "Hey, Jazz!" Danny said.

"Hey little brother!" Jazz said, hugging him. "Who's this?" She asked, pulling away.

"This is Dipper and Mabel," Danny said, gesturing to them. "They're the ones I told you about!"

"Oh, cool!" Jazz said. "The Mystery Twins!"

Mabel laughed, looking proud. Dipper, however, only smiled in a dazed sort of way. He looked a little out of it.

"Well, I've gotta go unpack," Jazz said, heading up the stairs with her bags. "But I want to get to know you guys later!"

"She seems pretty cool," Mabel said happily.

"Yeah, she's actually really sweet," Danny said, a little reluctantly. "She was really supportive when the accident happened. She didn't even tell me when she found out, she waited until I was ready to tell her. I'm pretty lucky to have a sister like her." Then he laughed, lightening the mood a bit. "Even if she is meddlesome, and a lousy ghost hunter."

Mabel laughed too, glancing at Dipper. "Uh, Dipper?" He was still staring up the stairs, where Jazz had gone. "Dipper?" She waved a hand in front of his face. "Earth to Dipper!" She half-shouted.

He started. "Huh? What?" He reddened slightly. "What, Mabel?"

Mabel looked at him slyly. "Were you staring at Jazz?" She asked, a mischievous tone in her voice.

"What? No!" Dipper said, going redder.

"No way!" Mabel said, laughing. "What, do you have a thing for tall redheads who are way too old for you?"

"Mabel, it's nothing! She's just… kinda cute, that's all."

"Oh, gross, man! That's my sister!" Danny said, pretending to gag. He laughed. "Come on, let's head back to my room. It's time you guys told me all about the apocalypse."

* * *

"...Wow. That's just… wow." Danny said in amazement, running a hand through his hair.

"Yeah. It was a crazy ride." Dipper laughed resignedly. "I'd kind of like to forget about it, actually. But enough about Weirdmaggedon, what about you?"

"Me?" Danny asked.

"Yeah! You've hardly told us anything! What kind of enemies do you deal with? Have there been any major crises you've prevented? How did you even get your powers?" Dipper pulled out his journal and started clicking a pen excitedly.

"Woah, slow down, man." Danny said, holding up his hands. "I already told you most of that stuff last summer, didn't I?"

"I want all the details! So I can fill out my new journal accurately." He flipped open to the page on Phantom.

Mabel giggled at Dipper's enthusiasm. "I'd like to know more about it too, Danny. Please?"

Danny sighed, chuckling. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Alright, but let me go grab something really quick."

Danny jumped off his bed and ran to Jazz's room, bringing back a large scrapbook. "Jazz has been keeping a record of all my adventures as Phantom. It's probably got more detail than I can remember."

He laid it on the bed and opened to the first page, with Mabel and Dipper crowding around to see. "I guess we'll start at the accident." He pointed to a picture of him standing in front of the deactivated ghost portal. "See, Sam challenged me to go into the ghost portal, just to see if I could get it to work. My parents had been working on it for years, but the thing wouldn't turn on. The problem was, my dad had put the "on" button on the _inside_ of the portal and forgotten about it.

"It was just a joke, really… I mean, we were fourteen and just weren't thinking about the dangers of playing around in the lab. And anyway, I had always wanted to go in there. I mean, who knew what kind of awesome, supercool things existed on the other side? So I put on the jumpsuit my dad had made for me, just to be safe, and went in. I was trying to see what was down at the end of the tunnel, and accidentally hit the button.

"The portal activated, and…" Danny paused, looking down at the picture, but not as though he really saw it. He seemed a million miles away. "It hurt so much," He said quietly. "I was being electrocuted, but worse… I didn't know what it was at the time, but I could _feel_ the ectoplasm fusing with my DNA. Like being pricked with a million needles while getting struck by lightning." He shuddered. "I don't think I've ever been in so much pain. It felt like forever, but after a few seconds it stopped. And I was… different." He looked down, deep in thought. "I felt really light, and full of energy, but at the same time I was so tired I thought I was dying. My entire body was… flickering. And then I sort of stabilized, and changed back. Sam and Tucker had seen, though, and then we were all freaking out. It took me a long time to figure out what I was doing and get used to my powers."

Mabel and Dipper were staring at him in awe. "Woah…" Mabel said softly.

"That's incredible!" Dipper said. "I guess it makes sense, though. I mean, if you were caught in between the dimensions when the portal was activated, you would have been infused with energy from both worlds. The electricity running through you probably helped the ectoplasm meld itself to your DNA."

"I'm just glad I survived!" Danny said. "It was terrifying, especially since I didn't know what was going on." He looked at Dipper. "You're not going to put all that in your journal, are you? It's really important that we keep my secret identity… well, secret."

"I'll encode it so only I can read it." Dipper said with a shrug, already writing in an unfamiliar runic language.

Danny still looked a bit uneasy, but continued. "It was a month before I had my first big ghost battle, and even then I didn't have a good handle on my powers. It was weird trying to get used to it, I suddenly had a whole new side to me."

"Hmm…" Dipper paused in his writing, looking thoughtful. "I'm just thinking, Danny, by the nature of the accident, I mean..." He thought for a moment, then said, "Is there anyone else like you?"

"Yeah," Danny replied. "My archenemy, Vlad Masters, is a half-ghost too. He got in the way of my parents' prototype portal when they were in college."

"Really?" Mabel asked, eyes wide. "Anyone else?"

"No one." Danny shook his head firmly. "Luckily, very few people have access to ghost portals. As far as I know, there are only two functional man-made portals that exist- ours, and Vlad's. It would be disastrous if the general public found out about all this. Heck, most people don't believe that ghosts exist at all!" He laughed. "Anyway, there's not a lot risk there."

Mabel laughed too. "Tell us more about the ghosts that you've fought!" She said.

Danny turned a page in the scrapbook. "Well, the first major fight was with a ghost called the Lunch Lady." He pointed to a picture. "She was mad because Sam took all the meat off the school menu."

"She attacked because of that?" Mabel asked incredulously.

Danny chuckled. "Yeah, seems pretty silly in retrospect. I haven't had to deal with her in a while. She's not a very formidable enemy, anyway." He glanced at Dipper, who was still writing furiously in his journal. Danny continued, turning another page. "And this is the Box Ghost. I met him pretty early on too-"

"I'm sorry," Mabel interrupted, "The _Box_ Ghost? What does he do, haunt warehouses?"

"Um, pretty much." Danny said.

Mabel snorted, looking disbelieving.

Danny laughed again. "Yeah, it's pretty lame. He wants to prove that he's intimidating, but the scariest thing he can do is tie you up in bubble wrap."

Mabel exploded into laughter. Danny grinned, looking at Dipper. He was still looking down at his journal, apparently deep in thought.

"What's up?" Danny asked.

Dipper didn't respond.

"Uh, Dipper?" Danny said, shaking him.

Dipper started. "Oh, what? Sorry, I was just thinking…" He looked back down at his journal while Mabel's laughter subsided.

"About what?" Danny asked. "I didn't think the Box Ghost could be so interesting," He nudged Dipper playfully.

"No, it's just… I just had an idea."

"About what?" Mabel asked curiously.

"Nothing, it's… It's not important." Dipper shook his head. "Forget it. Keep going, Danny."

Danny looked at Dipper in slight concern, but continued to elaborate on his early adventures as Phantom. Dipper asked occasional clarifying questions, always taking notes in the journal. Still, Danny thought he seemed a little distracted.

About an hour into the interview, Dipper became very quiet again. Mabel, however, was still enthusiastic, so Danny began to focus on her instead.

"So, did you manage to get off Skulker's island?" Mabel asked, enthralled with Danny's current story.

"Yeah, I managed to convince Valerie to work with me. She still doesn't trust Phantom, but at least she buried the hatchet long enough for us to get out of there. We finally lured Skulker into one of his own traps and escaped." He laughed. "We almost failed the Home Ec assignment too, but Tucker messed up so badly that we looked good in comparison."

Mabel laughed too as Dipper stood up. "Where are you going, bro?"

"Uh, bathroom," Dipper said, not meeting their eyes and walking out of the room.

"Why'd he take his journal with him?" Danny asked after Dipper had shut the door.

Mabel shrugged. "He probably wants to reread it in there. He's weird like that."

Danny frowned slightly, but decided to let it slide. Who knew what was going on in that kid's head?

* * *

Danny kept talking until his throat was dry. Mabel pressed him for every detail, eager to learn more.

"Alright, give me a break, Mabel! I need a drink." Danny stood up to grab his water bottle from his dresser. "Hmm, I wonder what's taking Dipper so long?" He looked towards the door.

"I bet he was rereading his journal and forgot where he was." Mabel said casually. "Once he gets focused on something he doesn't stop."

"I don't know," Danny said slowly, "He's been gone for a long time." He looked out the window, noticing how dark it was. It must have been later than he thought. "I hope he's okay."

"He'll be fine," Mabel said, though starting to look a bit worried herself.

"We should get to bed, in any case," Danny said, closing the scrapbook. "We can keep talking tomorrow. It's getting late."

"Okay…" Mabel said, glancing at the door herself now. "Let's just wait for Dipper to come back.

Danny nodded, wondering what could be taking so long.


	5. Chapter 5

Dipper crept down the basement stairs. He had to get a better look at the ghost portal. Danny hadn't explained much about the portal itself, and Dipper wanted to get a good sketch of it too.

Dipper entered the darkened lab and flicked on a dim light to see. He crept toward the deactivated portal, skirting around the table covered in sewing supplies. It appeared that Danny's dad had finished the jumpsuit he'd wanted to make for him. Dipper held it up. It looked like it might actually fit him fairly well, and he was impressed at the speed and accuracy with which Jack had made it. The jumpsuit was orange, more or less designed like Jack's, but with a black pine tree on the chest. Dipper shook his head and put the jumpsuit down.

He stepped up to the portal, wondering if he could turn it on. He plugged it in, but nothing happened except for a faint spark somewhere inside. There must be another step to activating it.

He peeked inside curiously. It was a short tunnel with electrical wires and circuitry coating the inside. Nothing exceptional, though admittedly he'd never seen anything like it before. He examined the settings panel just outside the entrance. He couldn't make sense of anything.

Dipper frowned. He thought that after his experience with Ford and the portal between dimensions, he might have had a better comprehension of Danny's ghost portal. He flicked through his journal, cursing himself for not writing more in-depth notes on Ford's portal.

Dipper opened to the page where he'd written about Phantom's origin. He started to sketch the ghost portal for reference, making small notes as he went.

The more he drew, the more he thought he understood the portal. It didn't seem that different from the one Ford had created, except that this one was made to enter the Ghost Zone instead of Bill's Nightmare Realm. And, amazingly, the ghost portal was built even better than Ford's. Maybe the Ghost Zone was easier to access, but this portal used much less power and carried much less risk.

Dipper finished the drawing of the portal. He wanted to draw the inside too, but he was wary of going in. He stared at the portal. He understood how Danny must have felt when he sat looking at it back then. All that mystery, that adventure, waiting just on the other side…

Dipper glanced back at the jumpsuit lying on the sewing table. He didn't want to let himself think about the idea he had. It was crazy, and stupid, and…. What if he…. He didn't let himself finish the thought. He closed his journal and turned his back on the portal. He'd gotten what he came down here for.

But if….

Dipper turned back. Was this what he'd been planning when he'd lied about where he was going? Did he really want to try?

He couldn't. It would be incredibly dangerous.

But what if it worked?

Slowly, Dipper put down his journal. He picked up the jumpsuit. Surely it wouldn't hurt if he just looked inside? He would put the suit on for safety. He would look inside and do nothing else.

Dipper pulled the zipper up. He looked down at the pine tree on his chest. It reminded him of all the crazy adventures he'd had in Gravity Falls. And then, he'd had to go back to Piedmont, and nothing had happened for a year. He'd never realized how incredibly mundane his normal life was until he had to go back to it.

He looked back up at the portal. Just a quick peek, he told himself, trying to ignore the idea that was tugging at his conscience.

Dipper entered the portal. It really wasn't that interesting on the inside, either. The only thing of note was the big green "on" button.

It was right there…

Right in front of him…

 _You can't_ , Dipper told himself.

 _But you could_ , another voice in his head said.

He realized that his hand was hovering an inch from the button. He took a deep breath.

And then there was nothing but pain.


	6. Chapter 6

"Seriously, where is he?" Mabel asked, genuinely worried as she gazed into the empty bathroom.

"I don't know," Danny said, though he had a vague, unsettling suspicion. "We should start looking."

"Wait, let's go back to your room. Maybe he came back while we were gone," Mabel said.

Danny looked skeptical. They had only been out of the room for a minute or so to check if Dipper was in the bathroom, but he followed Mabel down the hall regardless.

Danny's room was still empty. Mabel closed the door and sat on the bed, resting her head on her hands.

Danny walked up to her. "Mabel, he probably just wandered off somewhere. We should check downsta-" He broke off as the door banged open and Dipper staggered into the room.

For a moment, there was complete silence.

"WHAT DID YOU _DO_?" Danny yelled.

Dipper was a mess. He looked weak and shaky, but the thing that caught Danny's eye was his _strikingly_ _white_ _hair_.

Mabel stared at him. He was wearing a dark blue jumpsuit with a white pine tree on the front. His eyes had turned from brown to a bright, toxic green. He stumbled forward, then fell to his knees.

"That hurt more than I thought it would…" he gasped.

"Dipper, you IDIOT!" Danny stood over him, staring in astonishment and outrage.

Dipper looked up, surprised. "What...?"

Mabel looked at him in horror. "Dipper, you… you're _dead_!"

"Technically he's only mostly dead…" Danny muttered, arms crossed.

"And mostly dead is still somewhat alive…" Dipper mumbled, trailing off as he lost consciousness.

"If he wasn't mostly dead already, I'd KILL him." Danny said furiously.

* * *

Dipper woke up laying on Danny's bed, Mabel and Danny standing over him. He blinked groggily and tried to sit up, rubbing his head.

"You okay bro?" Mabel said nervously.

"I feel like I just got hit by a truck…" Dipper groaned. He looked up at Danny, who was glaring at him so fiercely that Dipper wondered if he was going to blast him with a ray of ectoplasmic energy.

"Tell me something, Dipper." Danny said softly. "Were you TRYING TO GET YOURSELF KILLED?" His eyes suddenly glowed green with rage as his voice rose sharply out of control.

Dipper flinched. He looked down at himself. He was still wearing the jumpsuit that had turned dark blue. Despite Danny's anger, Dipper couldn't suppress a small smile. It had worked.

"You think this is a joke? A game or something?" Danny said furiously.

"N-no, I…" Dipper couldn't think of anything to say.

"Do you have ANY IDEA what you just did?" Danny shouted.

Dipper blinked rapidly, trying to clear his head. He couldn't think straight. His vision was still a little blurry. He looked back up, and saw Danny glaring at him with his fists clenched. Behind Danny, Mabel was staring at him with her hands clasped over her mouth.

It wasn't until he saw the look of shock and horror on Mabel's face that Dipper really did start to realize what he'd done.

"I- I gave myself ghost powers," he said, more to himself than in answer to Danny's question.

Danny walked to the wall and pushed his hands against it, apparently attempting to restrain himself from drastic action.

"Dipper?" Mabel asked quietly. "Did you really do that to yourself? On purpose?"

"Uh, yeah…" Dipper said, almost shamefully. With the shame came a strange tingling feeling he couldn't identify.

Mabel squeaked in fear. "Dipper? Where'd you go?" She asked in a panicked voice.

"What? I haven't moved," Dipper said, confused.

Danny looked over at him, still glaring. "You're invisible," he said through gritted teeth. "It's starting."

"Huh?" Dipper looked down again, seeing only the bed instead of his body. He jumped in surprise as he reappeared. "Wait, what's starting?" He asked Danny, trying not to let his voice waver.

Danny took a deep breath. "You're not in control. Didn't you listen to anything I said? It took me months to get a handle on my powers!" Despite his efforts, Danny's voice was rising in anger. "And now you've put us all in danger! You, me, your sister, we're all going to have to deal with things you can't even imagine! And for what? You wanted to have a little _fun_? You think it's cool to be some sort of halfa hybrid _freak_?!"

Dipper reeled. "Freak? Danger? What are you talking about? If anything, I should be able to help now that-"

Danny yelled in outrage, bursts of energy shooting from his hands. Dipper jumped back as they hit the floor near the bed.

"Help? HELP!? You don't know what you're doing! You've made yourself a target for every ghost in the Ghost Zone! And now I'm going to have to protect you and your sister from every spectral menace who wants to take advantage of your powers. And that's not to mention how the human world is going to react! You have NO IDEA what you've gotten yourself into!"

"Who says I need protecting?" Dipper said, standing up on the bed. "I survived Weirdmageddon! I defeated Bill Cipher! Now I have the chance to-"

"To what? What do you expect to do?" Danny said, raising his eyebrows. "You're going to protect _California_ from the ghosts that aren't there?" His voice was mocking. "Or did you plan to move to Amity Park? Oh wait, I know! You thought you'd play the hero by fighting the ghosts you lured straight to you!"

Dipper was silent. He glared at Danny's sneer. Mabel's eyes flicked between them, most of her face still covered by her hands. Tears began to slide down her cheeks.

"Danny, please stop," she said quietly, her voice shaking. "I think Dipper just wanted to be like you."

"Like _me_?" Danny said incredulously, turning on Mabel. "Then he really wasn't listening! Didn't I tell you both how hard it was? The screw ups with my powers, the trouble I got in, how many times I almost _died_? I got detention every day for two years because I couldn't control my powers! I was almost trapped inside alternate realities and timelines! I got close to being dissected by my own _parents_!" Danny spun back to face Dipper, his face getting red. "And I've got enough to deal with without having to look after some kid who THINKS HE KNOWS WHAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH!"

Dipper's chin was trembling. His eyes were too bright as he stared at Danny. "Just because you're afraid of your powers doesn't mean I'm afraid of mine," He said with a quiet venom in his voice. Then he vanished again.

"Dipper!" Mabel cried. She heard footsteps running toward the door and looked around wildly as she tried to catch sight of him. As the sound of his steps faded, Mabel ran after him. She slammed the door behind her, leaving Danny standing motionless in his room.


	7. Chapter 7

Dipper was crouched against a wall outside, his face buried in his still-gloved arms. His anger was giving way to humiliation now, and disappointment. He had wanted to impress Danny. Why had he been so angry?

He gritted his teeth as a tear fell into his lap. There was a bright flash of light, and suddenly he was back to normal.

"Dipper?"

Dipper jumped at the voice, looking up to see Mabel peeking around the corner. He turned his face away.

"Dipper… are you okay?" She said softly, coming to sit beside him.

Dipper couldn't meet her gaze. Instead he pressed his face harder into his arms, as if he could hide from her. But he knew she could still hear his ragged breaths.

"I understand, Dipper. I know why you did it. And I know why you argued. You don't have to say it." Her voice was soft and gentle, but Dipper could hear a bit of tension as well. He turned his face away from her as more tears blurred his vision.

"Dipper…" Mabel paused. Dipper heard her swallow, and he could tell there was a lump in her throat too. When she did speak, it was in a whisper. "What about me?"

"What?" Dipper said, caught off guard.

"What about me?" She repeated, her voice breaking. "What am I going to do?"

Dipper looked at her, a mixture of confusion and guilt on his face. Before he could come up with a reply, she was talking again.

"I mean, it's cool and all, but I feel like you're leaving me behind again. It's just like with Ford. You found some cool new adventure to have and you rushed into it without even thinking about me. I mean, we're twins! We're supposed to be together no matter what! You promised..." She glanced at him quickly before rushing on. "And I'm not sure this is a good idea anyway! You saw how Danny reacted. Dipper, I- I love you, but I really don't think you thought this through!"

Dipper watched his sister in dismay as tears started to roll down her face. He really hadn't given much thought to how Mabel would react, but now his face was burning with shame.

"Mabel…" he whispered croakily, "I'm sorry. I just…I just..."

"I know, Dipper." She cut off his stammering. "Like I said, I understand. I just… had to get it out. I care about you, Dipper. I don't want us to have to… to wonder about each other." She looked at him, brushing away the tears on her face and giving a shaky smile. "I'll be here with you, okay? Every step of the way."

Dipper nodded silently, still looking at Mabel. She was uncharacteristically silent for a while, simply sitting beside him while he hiccuped himself into silence.

"You have to talk to him, you know."

"I know."

"I mean really talk. Don't treat him like a little kid. You have to work this out together."

"Jazz, I already said I would talk to him. Just drop it, okay?"

"Danny…" Jazz sighed. It wasn't often that her brother came to her for help. She had let him rant, listening to his fury at Dipper. If she could get him to be honest to himself, this might just blow over. "Tell me something. Why are you so angry at Dipper?"

Danny looked at her incredulously. "Were you listening at all? He freaking gave himself-"

"I know," Jazz cut him off, "But why is that a bad thing?"

"It was stupid!" Danny said angrily. Jazz just looked at him with an expression that said she was waiting for a real answer.

"He- he's going to attract all sorts of trouble! I mean, the ghosts in the Ghost Zone will target him like they did to me. He's not trained, he can't fight. And I won't be able to look after him all the time!"

Jazz kept looking at him steadily. "Do you think he reminds you of yourself?"

"What? Of me?" Danny sputtered, looking back with a mixture of anger and fear.

"I don't think you want to admit it, but you see yourself in him," Jazz said. "He did something reckless and dangerous, but his intentions were good. Don't you think that's how you are?"

Danny seemed too flustered to form words. "He's- not- why would I- how could you-"

Jazz raised her eyebrows. Danny stopped stammering.

He sighed and sat down on Jazz's bed, his head in his hands. "I just don't want him to make the same mistakes, okay?" he said defensively. "I didn't know what I was getting into when it happened to me, but I would have thought he'd listened enough to know. My life was awful after the accident. He thinks it's going to be some fun adventure but he doesn't get it! It's so hard…"

"But Danny…" Jazz hesitated. "I thought you might be grateful to share your experience with someone."

"Grateful? I don't…" Danny looked pained.

"You don't want to share it?" Jazz said carefully. She knew that Danny had gained pride in his ghost powers. He was happy to be different from others. Maybe sometimes he even thought he was better.

"I don't… I don't know what I want, Jazz." Danny stared at his hands in his lap. "I'm… I'm scared."

"Think it over, okay little brother? I know you can handle this." She put a hand on Danny's shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile.

Danny didn't smile back.


	8. Chapter 8

Dipper was fiddling with his hands nervously. "Yeah, I'm-" -he hiccuped slightly, "I'm okay now." He took a deep, shuddering breath. Mabel was holding his hand gently, the way she had when they were little kids. He focused on the soft warmth of her hand and breathed deeply again. "But I really don't want to talk to Danny. Not tonight, anyway."

Mabel nodded. "I've got an idea. Wait here." She let go of his hand and quietly slipped through the Fenton's back door. Most of the lights inside were off, so she held her hands out to avoid running into anything as she crept through the kitchen. She went up the stairs and looked down the hallway. Danny's bedroom door was closed and the light was on, so he was probably still fuming in there. Jazz's door was partially open though, so Mabel tiptoed past Danny's door to take a look.

Jazz looked up from her journal when Mabel peeked her head in. "Oh, hi Mabel." She said with a slightly forced smile. "Come on in."

Mabel stepped into the room apprehensively, closing the door behind her. She stood awkwardly by the door for a moment, unsure how to approach.

Jazz stared at her for a moment, then sighed, dropping all pretense. "How's Dipper doing?" She asked, bookmarking the page in her journal and setting it on her dresser.

Mabel let out a huge breath of relief and plopped onto the bed next to Jazz. "I don't even know anymore," she said, putting her head in her hands. "I can't tell what he's thinking as much as I used to. I want to help him, but I don't know what he needs from me. I don't know what to do!" Her already swollen eyes were starting to tear up again.

Jazz nodded. "I know the feeling. Danny and I were so close when we were little, but as soon as puberty hit we were like strangers." She looked at Mabel, whose face was suddenly fearful.

"I can't let that happen to us!" She said, almost with a note of hysteria in her voice. "I can't! Everyone keeps saying that it's natural to grow apart as we grow up, but I'm so scared! We might end up like Stan and Ford, and then he'll hate me, and he won't talk to me for years, and-"

"Shh," Jazz soothed. "Calm down, okay? There's no need to worry about all that."

"But-"

"Mabel, listen." Jazz said in a slightly firmer voice. "I know how you're feeling. Honestly, I'm probably one of the only people in the world who can really relate to this situation." She looked Mabel directly in the eyes. "I want you to know, everything that happens from here on out is up to you. Danny and I grew apart because neither of us cared enough to stick together. The whole ghost thing, as crazy as it is, has actually brought us a lot closer than we used to be. But if I had made a better effort before then, we might not have needed to re-establish that bond." Her brow furrowed with regret, but her gaze was steady as ever. "I've only known you and Dipper for a day, Mabel, but I can tell that it would take a lot to tear you two apart. Don't doubt that, okay?"

"How can you know?" Mabel asked, her voice still strained.

"I'm good at reading people. I'm studying to be a psychologist, actually." Jazz smiled. "Consider me your vacation therapist!"

Mabel laughed shakily. "Thanks, Jazz." She wiped a tear off her cheek. "That actually does kinda make me feel better."

"Is that all you came in for? To talk about Dipper?" Jazz asked.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot." Mabel said, rubbing her eyes to dry them. "I was wondering, do you think Dipper could sleep in here tonight? I mean, Danny…"

"Right, of course." Jazz said. "How about you and Dipper sleep in here tonight, and I'll camp downstairs?"

"You sure?" Mabel asked. "I didn't mean..."

"Yeah." Jazz said, smiling again, albeit a bit awkwardly. "I saw the way Dipper was looking at me earlier, and I think it might be best not to distract him more right now."

"Ohh right." Mabel said, blushing slightly as she understood. "Okay, yeah. Sounds good. Thanks again, Jazz."

"Of course." Jazz said, picking up her journal again. "I'll move my stuff downstairs, you can go get Dipper."

"Okay," Mabel said again. She headed back outside to fetch her brother, noticing as she did that Danny's bedroom light had turned off.

The next morning, Dipper woke up in the basement. It was when he felt the cold of the concrete lab floor seeping through his pajamas that he jolted awake.

"Wha-?" he said groggily, struggling to get his brain working. "Where am I?"

He shook his head and blinked rapidly, trying to clear away the sleepy fog. His brain finally catching up with his surroundings, he jumped to his feet and checked his watch. It was just before 8.

Dipper sighed in relief. Since it was summer, it was likely that no one was up yet. The last thing he needed was for Danny's parents to wonder why he was alone in their lab at the crack of dawn. Then again, Jack might just take it as a sign of enthusiasm.

More importantly, what _was_ he doing alone in the lab at the crack of dawn?

There was a coolness in his chest, making him think about last night. That coolness felt like a sign of ghost powers. Dipper glanced at the ceiling. Had he passed through two levels of the house in his _sleep_?

Dipper jumped as he heard footsteps at the top of the stairs. He hid by a cabinet, pressing his back against the side that wasn't visible from the stairs. Peeking around it, he saw that the footsteps belonged to Mabel. She popped her head into the basement, apparently looking for something.

Dipper breathed a sigh of relief and let himself relax. He emerged from his hiding spot, walking towards her.

"Dipper! There you are!" She said, giving him a quick hug.

"Were you looking for me?" Dipper asked.

"Yeah, I heard this weird noise that woke me up and I saw you were gone! What are you doing down here?"

"Uh…" Dipper hesitated, rubbing his arm awkwardly. "I think I might have fallen through the floor by accident…"

Mabel gave him a look of confused amusement. "You mean like, a ghost thing?"

"I think so." Dipper looked away from her, still finding the topic awkward.

"Well, you seem normal now, so let's get back up to Jazz's room, okay?" Mabel grabbed his hand and started leading him back upstairs. "I want to sleep a little more before we start the day."

Dipper allowed himself to be pulled along, but he didn't go back to sleep once he was laying on the air mattress in Jazz's room. He heard Mabel's slow deep breaths from the bed, but he was too busy thinking.

An hour or so later, Jazz popped her head into the room. "Breakfast is ready downstairs, you guys. My parents… They'd appreciate if you came down to eat with us." She smiled awkwardly. "Is that okay?"

Mabel sat up in the bed and rubbed one eye. She shot Dipper the same apprehensive look Jazz was giving him.

"Yeah, no problem," Dipper said with forced casualness. "Just give us a second to change."

Jazz smiled a bit more genuinely before closing the door. Mabel heaved a sigh as it shut. "I guess we have to face it sooner or later, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess." Dipper didn't look at her.

Mabel frowned, but didn't say anything more about it.


	9. Chapter 9

"Why the long face, Danny-boy?" Jack asked jovially, piling six more pancakes onto his plate.

"Nothing, dad." Danny tried to smile, but it came out looking strained. "I just, uh..." Danny glanced at Dipper, "I had a nightmare last night. That's all."

Dipper narrowed his eyes, but continued eating in silence. Mabel glanced between the two of them nervously before locking eyes with Jazz, who shook her head almost imperceptibly.

"Well then, you should all go outside after breakfast," Maddie said matter-of-factly, apparently not noticing the awkward tension. "Nothing like some good, energetic fun to shake off negative thoughts." She held out a bowl to Dipper. "More strawberries?"

"Thanks," Dipper muttered, taking it and starting to spoon the fruit onto his pancakes.

"You do like your breakfast, don't you?" Maddie asked, still looking at Dipper in some concern.

"Yeah, it's great." Dipper gave a forced smile, but Maddie still seemed worried. Danny noticed her gaze flicking to Dipper too often.

Even though he knew his mom was just anxious to make their guests comfortable, some of Danny's old nervousness started to seize him. Did she suspect something was off?

Jazz seemed to sense his apprehension. "Sorry mom, we're all just really tired this morning." She gave a laugh that was pitched just a little too high. "We stayed up really late last night."

Maddie frowned. "Was that you kids making all that noise last night?"

"What noise?" Danny asked quickly, coughing a little on his juice.

"We heard some bangs and yelling," Maddie said.

"I was sure a ghost was on the loose!" Jack said loudly.

Maddie rolled her eyes and sighed. "I convinced him to stay in bed, though. I thought it was just the neighbors." She looked at the four adolescents sitting around the table. "Did something happen? Are you kids okay?"

Dipper's face was pale. He was staring down at his food, looking scared. Danny had to suppress an impulse to glare at him. He was only going to make them more suspicious.

Mabel nudged Dipper and gave him a look. "Yeah, we're fine, Mrs. Fenton," Dipper said, making a more successful attempt at a smile. "Like Jazz said, we're just tired."

Maddie still looked a little worried, but stopped pressing. "Then you should all be sure to go to bed early tonight!" She took a bite of her pancakes.

Danny looked across the table at Dipper. He still had his head down, but at least he was eating. Dipper's eyes met Danny's for a brief moment before he quickly looked down again.

"What are you kids planning to do today?" Jack asked, apparently oblivious even to Maddie's slight discomfort.

"I was thinking of taking them around town," Danny said, trying to sound casual. "They haven't gotten a chance to see much of Amity Park yet."

"Good idea, sweetie!" Maddie said happily. "Maybe you can introduce them to Tucker and Sam, too!"

"Oh…" Danny glanced at Dipper again. "Yeah, maybe."

"You know, I should really take your friends ghost hunting sometime!" Jack started enthusiastically. "No better way to get them familiar with Amity!"

"Um, dad-" Danny started, but Jack went blathering on.

"I mean, I've already made a jumpsuit for Dipper here," He clapped Dipper heavily on the back so that the boy's face was almost dunked in syrup. "I'm sure it wouldn't be too much trouble to get his sister one too!"

"Dad, really, I don't think-" Danny started, but this time Jazz cut him off.

"You need to let them do what they want to do, dad!" Jazz said in her familiar bossy tone. "They're here to hang out with Danny, not you!"

"But Jazzy-pants, I-"

Jazz held up her hand to stop him. "I'm sure if they want ghost-hunting lessons, they'll ask you." She shot a slightly sarcastic, surreptitious look at Dipper. "Won't you?"

Dipper blushed a little and rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. "Uh, yeah, sure." He quickly looked back down at his plate.

Jack looked disappointed. "But Dipper was so excited about it!" He looked over expectantly. "Weren't you?"

"I, uh, well…" Dipper glanced at him nervously, his fork hovering two inches from his mouth. "I mean, I…"

Danny watched Dipper struggling; he was clearly intimidated. The arm holding his fork was shaking a little, and it seemed somehow paler than the rest of him. Danny felt his stomach drop as he realized what was happening. Dipper's arm was draining of color. In a moment, Danny knew, it would be completely translucent.

"You know dad, we really should get going!" Danny interjected loudly, drawing all eyes to him. "We've got a big day ahead of us, you know!"

There was a clatter and a low gasp as Dipper's fork fell through his now intangible hand. As his parents' heads started to turn back toward the noise, Danny stood up abruptly, almost knocking his chair over, ensuring that his parents' eyes flicked back to him.

"Come on, guys!" He said loudly, ignoring his parents' startled faces and looking pointedly at the twins. "It's about time I showed you the ropes."


End file.
